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Greek Theatre - LA! Let's talk about it!
Ok, so this show really REALLY blew me away. He was so great, he told so many stories, and his repertoire was spot on - (insane, older chests, i remember / bang bang, cross eyed bear, acoustic cannonball, as well as all the necessary ones). but what really, truly impressed me was the different way he played these songs.
he opened with this eerie piano noise, that transitioned perfectly into rootless tree. some other highlights included volcano, with a jungle-like drum beat, and a normal piano-based 9 crimes that transitioned into a rockin one (kind of like the one played at the orpheum, last year), and amie (complete with spaceship story and whirring spaceship like effects at the end.) This was my third Damien show, so i guess you could say i'm a relatively seasoned veteran of his concerts. The first one being the infamous El Rey show, which completely changed the way I look at live music. But this one was so professional, and the stage was overflowing with talent (no offense to tomo, but brendan can definately hold his own). anyway, i just wanted to start this one off. if there's anything specific anyone wants to know, i'm sure that myself or someone else can field your question. I would try to write the setlist out, but i can't really remember the order of everything. |
had the exact opposite impression. i felt the show well, kinda sucked for a damien show. first time i've left feeling disappointed and like he mailed it in for about the first half of the show. brendan needs to leave now IMO. regardless, as i said in the other thread, expect the full recording to be out tomorrow night sometime or saturday at the latest i think.
setlist included (not all in correct order) Rootless Tree Older Chests Cross-Eyed Bear Insane Elephant Accidental Babies (aborted) Me, My Yoke, And I I Remember (Bang, Bang) Delicate Volcano Childish The Professor & La Fillie Danse Amie Coconut Skins Woman Like A Man Cannonball (unplugged) _______________________ 9 Crimes The Blower's Daughter Cheers Darlin' |
I was there and I, too, was blown away. Fantastic show!!! I felt SO lucky to be there!!!
I'm too tired to talk about it tonight, though... how about tomorrow??? Cheers!! :bom: |
You got Insane! :) I'm very happy for marti! :)
Waiting to read more impressions on the show... :) thank you for sharing! |
Wow that is pretty much my perfect show.... If i said i wasn't jealous i would be lying. Set looked a lot longer then other shows this mini tour.... Insane!!! that is my all time favorite song, he refused to play it no matter how many times i was yelling for it from the second row in Boston. You people who were there are so very lucky...
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Oh my!!! ... I think the campaigning for Insane finally payed off!!!!!!!!!!!
Wooo hoooo!!!!!!!:hello2: :hello2: :hello2: :hello2: :hello2: :hello2: :hello2: This makes me sooo happy!!!! :):) ANd you got Cross eyed bear too!!!!!!!! .... wowwwwwwwww!!!!!! AllThatLies... i'm sorry you didn't have that great of a time!!!... but you recorded the show!!??!!?.... you're amazing!!! :) :icon_pray :icon_pray Ps... *impatiently awaits for MArti to come back!!!!!!!*;) |
WOW this was actually my first Damien show and I was completely blown away! Well worth the trip from Mexico, we had an amazing time!
I think the setlist posted was very accurate, only missing was Vyv's song I think. There were so many highlights: Insane (!), The Professor in a longer version than the one featured on the B-sides CD, Volcano with the drums, Cross-eyed bear, Childish, Cannonball unplugged (we were right in front of him so the effect was extra special), the whole Cheers Darling closing, and well, if I went on I'd probably point-out every single song so I'll just stop here. I was really hoping somebody recorded the audio of the show, a BIG BIG THANK YOU to you AllThatLies for doing it, it was really a dream come true for me and I'm extremely happy that I will be able to re-live it. |
This was my fifth show and probably my favorite. (seeing him in Ireland was a lifetime highlight for me, but the show itself this time was so perfect).
I brought my friend who, before last week, didn't know any of his music. I made her a mix CD with songs I was sure she would hear... I was surprised (and delighted) that the first five songs he played were not on her CD! That was the second time I'd heard Cross-Eyed Bear, but was stoked to hear it again. Insane was such a treat... even though I was kind of expecting it (Borneoman had heard it at the sound check, along with What This Night Is For, which I would've flipped over, but he ended up not playing it) The Professor/La Fille Danse was a highlight for me, too. He had a nice extension to it I hadn't heard before. First time I ever saw him live, that was the first song he played... I'll never forget it!! Childish was fun to hear, too... and I had actually never heard Amie live, which was great (LOVED the "spaceship")... and I believe it was in Amie (or was it Me, My Yoke and I?) that he bent over and started messing with his pedal effects to the point of reverb brilliance... very cool moment. Of course, The Cannonball unplugged moment was unforgettable... and probably my favorite song of the night was Elephant... it was what I wanted to hear the most at the last show and he didn't play it, and he NAILED it last night!! In the beginning of the show, probably the first six or seven songs, he didn't say a word to the audience, so I thought it was going to be one of "those" shows... it turned out to be quite the opposite. He was FULL of stories in the second half!! I feel like I could go on and on with positives.... I was SHOCKED that the audience didn't sing along to Blower's Daughter! I thought that was pretty much a standard nowadays! I guess LA is a bit more calloused... :smiley24: This was my third time seeing his Cheers Darlin' routine: it was very different this time, though. He was much more into the "acting" end of it... like he was writing the lyrics as he sung it... it was precious!!! Oh yeah, and the last thing he said as he exited the stage was "F*** THAT BITCH!!" Hahahaha.... good times. One more thing... the moment where he aborted Accidental Babies and decided to jump into Me, My Yoke and I was so awesome... and when he stopped in the beginning of Coconut Skins to tune his guitar?? I live for that kind of stuff!! All in all, it was just a great night.... I am so grateful that I could be there and bring one of my best friends to enjoy it with me..... great to meet more Eskimo Friends, too!!! Have a great weekend, everyone! I'm going to see Muse tonight!! :icon_kidr |
A Wee Bit Disappointing
I agree with AllThatLies (and as always thanks for taping the show) - this was my 14th show and it was disappointing for a Damo show (which is hard to believe with that set list and the fact that we stood just a couple of yards from Damo front row center in the Pit).
It wasn't a bad show, but I guess I'm spoiled by all the great shows he's played in LA the last few years. The show last night was a far cry from the good old days (the shows at the Troubadur, Fonda, Wiltern or even last years show at the El Rey come to mind) - the enthusiasm and energy he used to have are gone, replaced by a mechanical - going through the motions - kind of performance. Maybe he just needs to recharge? I never thought I'd say this, but last months Swell Season show was way better than last nights show - Glen and Marketa had all that magic that Damo was lacking last night. Enthusiasm, energy, fun, an amazing connection with the crowd, improvised moments, and that feeling that anything could happen at any moment (Damien standing next to us in the crowd that night and performing elephant wasn't even close to the highlight of the night). I have a feeling that the combined weight of commitments business and everything that made Damien want to quit the business in the first place is catching up with him and dragging him down - Catch 22! Lets hope Damo recharges - finds his enthusiasm - and starts enjoying himself again. In the meantime don't miss the swell season's mini tour (Sat Nov 10 if you're in LA) Glen and Marketa are so good and adorable it'll blow you away. Never the less, great set list and Damo on an off night is better than most bands at their best. Cheers. |
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i agree about the swell season. they are amazing these days. their el rey show was one of my favorites. i have really mixed feelings about last night's show. i've seen damien twice before, and i was probably a little spoiled by those shows (and i had better seats in the past). does anyone know why damien stopped accidental babies? maybe too emotional? or was that planned? because he went very quickly into MMY&I and the whole band acted like nothing happened. it seemed like there were a lot of really heavy songs last night. did anyone else think that coconut skins was kind of lacking?? i didn't care too much for the reggae style drumming. i like the album version (half-time) it was definatley a mixed show, but like others have said, it still beats concerts by most other artists out there. |
im so jealous he did insane, thats like the only song i havent heard him do live, that i love.
im still pissed he didnt schedule a bay area show! but hat being said cat power wednesay and arcade fire tonight will just have to do :) |
Just have 1 minute to comment. I'm still in shock that he played INSANE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! He must have been reading the forum ;) And some of us managed to hear it not once but THREE TIMES, cos we were there during the soundcheck and he did it twice!! I've been to the Greek before and it's worth going early in order to hear the soundcheck. It's an open venue with amazing acoustics so you can hear it all perfect from outside, and you can even see if you climb to the hill. Those neighbours must be lucky!!
When he soundchecked I almost died!!!! When I heard those first chord and 'Should I speak' I think I started shaking ;) And it was the best version of Insane ever, started with Damien solo, then Vyv joined in, then the full band, and then it had an amazing outro in which the cello was the main instrument with all the other instrument playing around it!!!!! The soundcheck was: Volcano Yoke What this night is for (which he later did not play :crybaby2: but I think I can count it) Elephant bridge x2 Insane x2 The setlist: 1 Rootless tree (first half rhodes/second half piano) 2 Older chests 3 Cross eyed bear (so so so beautiful, goosebumps) 4 Insane (beyond words) 5 Elephant 6 Accidental babies (aborted) 7 Yoke 8 Never leave you (Vyv) 9 I remember/bang bang 10 Delicate 11 Volcano 12 Childish 13 The professor (with 3rd verse Ouvrir les seines!!!) 14 Amie 15 Coconut skins>Jam 16 Woman like a man 17 Cannonball (unplugged) ------ encore 18 9 crimes 19 The blower's daughter 20 Cheers darlin I think the show was amazing, the setlist was great, Insane-biased of course, but also got Childish, Cross eyed bear, Amie, I remember/bang bang, Elephant... Damien was a bit weird, like someone with double personality. During the first part of the show he was like down, and not there at all, like zero into it, he even aborted Acc babies, but still very very professional. But he didn't say a single word during the first 11 songs, not even thank you, nada... It's not that he was angry or intense, jut not into it, but still the sequence of Cross eyed bear>Insane>Elephant was beyond words!!!!!! and then suddenly after Volcano he changed completely and started to tell the craziest stories, well, the usual ones but with lots of added details and for Childish, The professor, Amie, Coconuts and Cheers D we got like 5 minute-long stories and brilliant kinda-cheerful performances. Must have drunk/taken something during Vyv's break me thinks... the change of moods was a bit weird but I thought it was an amazing amazing show. Maybe not the best but getting Insane does it really for me!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Had to go to 10 shows to finally get it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Lindsay, told you you had to fly to LA to get it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! and Three Times in a day is even crazier!!!!!!!!!!! We'll come back later with more details ;) |
I think the reason why he seems less zealous these days is because he has gotten to the point where he views this as work and not play.
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Teresa!! It's Brenda--I'm going to see Muse tonight too!!!! :hello2: CALL ME!! |
Oh my .... seriously this sounds like a great show!!!!
you got Insane!!!... cross eyed bear ... childish... and elephant!! ... which i think he's only played once before in this leg of the tour!!!!!!! :icon_pray :icon_pray Insane 3 times!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :hello2: :hello2: :hello2: :hello2: ^ that says it all!! :D:D:D:D Quote:
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For all you LA peeps, Pedestrian is playing tonight at the Hotel Cafe...
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Oh wow, sounds like a brilliant set list!! Marti, how'd you get in early enough to hear the soundcheck (do share your secrets with us :p)
I'm so excited to see/hear the recordings (assuming, of course, there are some) :D Also, it's great to hear about Glen/Mar - I can't wait to see them in 2 months or so! P.S. GO SEE PEDESTRIAN! They were so good when I saw them last year... |
I'll be at the Hotel Cafe tonight
I'm definitely gonna check out Pedestrian tonight.
Should be a blast - I love the Hotel Cafe - what a jem |
Part 2 ;)
Forgot to say I met the nicest Eskimos, the French travelling gnomes (Cuuliem and Olivier) and the sweetie Terese ;) And thanks AllThatLies for the audio!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Cannot wait!!! Tomorrow eh;);) oooh and Cuuliem took some videos too. The first part of the concert for sure!!! Sorry you didn’t enjoy the show AllThatLies, see you’re not happy with the direction Damien is taking, bigger venues, rockier sound. I agree with Rue St Denis, sometimes now they play almost too-well, too professional. That’s the thing. Even when he’s not into the show, he can play a flawless show. Before the show, we were waiting in front of the box office and it was funny because Joel and Brendan were also there with some faimily and friends, and no one recognised them at all. Joel has this gorgeous girlfriend, could pass for a supermodel ;) Usually when the shows are indoors the soundcheck is barely audible, but at the Greek is perfect... and it was super late like at 5 or 6 pm. I have to say that the audience was HORRIBLE, worst I’ve ever seen. Most people were so fooking late, during the first part of the show people were continuing to arrive non-stop, some more than 30 min late. And the rest were going for drinks all the time so there was a constant in/out of people, really annoying, some people went for drinks like 5 times. As expected there were lots and lots of empty seats, so we jumped seats and ended up 6th row dead center. There seemed to be more people in section B than in section A, in which most of the people spent more time at the bar than sitting. Got the feeling no one knew a song. How/why did they get tix? As mentioned before, Damien started the show pretty quiet and zero talkative, didn’t say a word until song 12… The songs were also quiet (Rootless tree, Older chest, Cross eyed bear). But after Vyv’s break he changed completely and was super happy, when telling the stories, even when performing. ROOTLESS TREE: Did the first part on the Rhodes, the second part on the Piano and was great. Half of section A was still standing, moving around so it was all a bit distracting. I was thinking Damien should do a Tori Amos and learn how to play the Rhodes with one hand and the piano with the other hand at the same time, maybe he can learn it during this break he’s gonna take. OLDER CHESTS: Sweet. All the songs with Damien on acoustic guitar and Vyv on cello worked perfect for me. Again, lots of people moving… CROSS-EYED BEAR: I wasn’t expecting that at all and was so happy to hear it. Was amazing. Cannot wait to hear the audio. The first part was really soft, the guitar was incredible, goosebumps!!!!!!!!! I think the cello and the rest joined later in the song. INSANE: Insanely good!!!!!!!! So happy Brendan learnt how to play it!!! I knew it was coming but still it was 2156321867 times better than expected. Damien started solo, then Vyv joined, finally the rest of the band. And it had an absolutely amazing outro with all of them playing but with the cello as the main voice. The mix was perfect and congrats on the sound mixer since not even the drums killed the cello. It remind me of the Accidental Babies outro that Vyv/Damien do. ELEPHANT: Amazing, perfect. The Cross-eyed bear>Insane>Elephant was incredible. Wait for the audio and you’ll see!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Really nailed it. And the bridge was really strong. I think I even jumped when the drums kicked in. ACCIDENTAL BABIES: Went to the piano, started the song, and after 30 sec he stopped, said sorry, and went for the guitar. Guess he was not in the mood. Happened before. YOKE: Great version. Really loud and heavy. NEVER LEAVE YOU: That was the one Vyv song that I wanted to hear. Brilliant. She started and then realised the machine that plays recorded thingies was not working, so she stopped, told us that that was the introduction, blamed the machine and started again. Great song, really sweet. Vyv was in great form last night, all her cello parts were amazing!!! I REMEMBER/BANG BANG: Typical recent version, 20 min long, with a long Bang Bang part. Amazing as always. So happy to hear it again, it’s my favourite and so far he’s always played it at all my gigs. DELICATE: Nice. Could have done with another song though. I think he’s putting too much weight on O, I don’t know why he doesn’t play songs like Grey room or Animals more. VOLCANO: Great version, with a long outro with lots of noise and drums and guitars. I think at the end he was repeating I Kissed Her again and again, well more yellin than singing actually CHILDISH: Great surprise, wasn’t expecting it all. Was so great, he sang it very funnily, and people loved it. He told the usual story about doing some charts/graphs about songwritters he’s met in the last 10-15 years. Both story and song were great. THE PROFESSOR: Again both story and song were really funny. Perfect. Everybody laughed during the dick parts in the song. And he did the 3 French parts, including the Ouvrir les Seines one. He told the story abot a 13 year old boy been given 1 million dollars a day and told to spend them wisely, and imagine what he’d do with 1 million sperm. Then he said it was like when you go to your ex-girlfriend house and suddenly you’re into her again. Then best thing is to go to the restroom, and relieve yourself, sit back next to hear and see if you’re still into her and still wanna hold her hand!! AMIE: Long story again. Same as usual but with minor changes. He said the story happened when he was a teen. In his room he had those thick grey curtains, who knows why since it’s always greay and idark and rainy in Ireland but still people wanna keep the light out, so he was depressed and when to see his girl friend. The rest is the same as usual, but the funniest part was when he explained the bit about going for a wank after he’s left alone in the room. He said something like ‘I closed the door, waited til my friend and her sister used the bathroom, closed thei door to their room, and then I spent some time with myself… 2 minutes 44 seconds’!!!!!!!!!!!!! He actually said that!!! And the song was amazing, so beautiful. The guitar and cello combination was amazing. Really made me appreciate this song again!!!!!!!!!!! So so so so beautiful!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! COCONUT SKINS>JAM>WOMAN LIKE A MAN: Usual story about life expectations, think he mentioned here he went to study engineering after school, and the typical story about what this person thinks, what that person thinks, fook it. He started in the wrong key, did a second take. This part of the gig was great, some even stood up and danced. The jam was nuts and really heavy, lots of drums. CANNONBALL: Unplugged and always a treat. Amazing at the Greek. 9 CRIMES: He re-appeared first solo and started on the piano. The band joined and was strong like in recent shows but shorter. THE BLOWER’S DAUGHTER: Nice!!!! Not many singers, but some screamers ;) CHEERS DARLIN: Great super long story. He was at the bar, it was cold, damp, snowing, and from the window he saw this old man bumping into this girl. Usual story. After she leaves to meet the boyfriend, Damien approches the man and tells him something like, I have my guitar, we can write a song about it. And then during the whole performance, Damien was pretending to write the lyrics with a pen on his right hand, using his left hand as a beer mat, and saying things like second verse… same as first verse… Really funny and the performance was great too, although I prefer it 100 times with real music. As he finished, snow felt from the ceiling, then he pretended to pee on a street lamp and left shouting Fooking Bitch!!!!! |
Oh gosh borneoman......so so so wonderful!!! Thank you sooo much for sharing so many details!! It's the next best thing to actually being there!! And just a wonderful read.....I think you should just start making things up so you can write more;)!
So glad you had a great time of course!! Hope all the travellers had a great time too!!! And that's excellent news that Cuuliem was able to tape!! :hello2: :hello2: edit....I forgot to ask, were you able to meet anyone after the show?? |
Looks like there was no post-show meet n greet, Cuuliem, Olivier and Terese did wait but he didn't show up. but Cuuliem met Shane and saw Vyv in the afternoon!!!!
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The Greek Show
As some know, this was my first live Damien show. I was quite dissapointed. Yes, it is true, he is great live and better than most musicians live, but I wasn't feeling it. I am not as savvy with his history and his "wanting to quit" the business, but it felt mechanical. I felt like he didn't want to be there (at least for the first half)... he felt disconnected, irritated, shut down etc.
He didn't speak or address the crowd or coo a "thank you" until half way through the show... walking out during "accidental babies" was somewhat bizarre and quite intense! Though he sounded brilliant and looked great, he didn't feel present. Don't get me wrong, I imagine living in that kind of stardom lends to enormous expectations that simply cannot be fulfilled at all times -- we are all human! Suffice to say I am a little ambivalent. Who knows? Maybe he was having a ****ty day? Maybe he recently got someone pregnant? Maybe he got a parking ticket or a herpes outbreak? Whatever the case, entering anything with great expectations is simply a set up constructed in fantasy and unfounded hope. I am certainly glad I didn't leave as he did redeem himself. The second half was far more engaging and he seemed less upset or distracted. "Cannonball " was absolutely moving! I was profoundly impressed by how his voice carried without the mic... I could have done without the shout-out's from the obnoxious crowd -- it felt disrespectful and annoying! I kind of hoped he would tell them to shut the **** up! I am sad that I never got the chance to see him before --- or simply didn't have the desire as I recently became enthralled with him. I suspect that a long hiatus would do him good --- he emotes that tortured, intense young man that is searching and values his time and freedom to explore his life! If I am to see him perform again, I would much rather see him in a more intimate venue -- While the Greek was a stunning venue, it felt too big for such a little guy (he is an adorable munchkin) with such intimate and intense music! Not that he has not earned his celebrity, just that I imagine witnessing him in a cozier venue. |
Wow Borneo, thanks for all the details!
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the bigger venues doesn't bother me and is irrelevant anyhow because he'll be back to smaller places like the soon since he didn't come close to selling out last night. |
I see what you're saying, AllThatLies. I can get how you thought brendan's drumming was a little too in-your-face, and of course, lisa was sorely missed. And the crowd was fairly talkative (it took them a long time to realize that he was playing cannonball completely unplugged and they didn't SHUT UP until he started singing).
I wasn't sure what to expect, since this was the first time i saw him without lisa and tomo, but regardless, i still think he played a great show. It was odd how disconnected he was, then all of a sudden he was a lively and cheery showman. I'll be excited to hear the audio again (thank you so much, these recordings mean so much to me). |
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i cant beleive he doesn't sell out everywhere, it seems as though everyone i know or ask has heard of him! Im going to see him in less than a month in a 12,000-16,000 arena and the tix are not sold out. Should i be expecting lots of spaces do you think? And thanks a bunch for recording the audio to the show; ill get back to this thread and give my opinion on the show as a whole after hearing it. Sorry you didnt enjoy last night; i hope there's better to come for you. |
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great review marti!!! glad you had such a good time. sound check? insane?? *jealous* ;)
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I found the show to be a little dissapointing as well, but mostly for reasons that aren't Damien's fault. First, I had heard almost every story before, and that kind of abated any mesmerization with his stories. In addition, due to the huge venue, it just seemed so professional. It is the difference between the two KCRW videos on youtube. One is damien, his guitar, and Lisa. One is Damien complete with the whole band. I just wanted something more intimate and acoustic, but I knew I wouldn't get that so it was not that big of a deal. Also, I just felt like, you know what, he doesn't want to be here right now. He is undoubtedly exhausted and just so excited to get to take a break. Anyway, it was an excellent performance, but I didn't want a performance. I just wanted Damien, his guitar, and his passion for music and his art.
Next tour will be much better, he just needs to recharge, re-focuse, and reduce the effects, production feel and venue sizes. |
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